Holiday Wrap-up

Pre-Christmas my BFF visited with her little girl and hubby for the afternoon. It was great to catch up a have the girls play for a bit. I think they're all set to be BFFs too!

For Christmas we went to Chicago. The trip was a bit trying- we had a flight cancelled, several delays, 8 of us got the stomach flu on Christmas eve/day, and the airline lost the car seat on the way back. In the end, it was alright. It was good spending time with Mark's family, and it was especially good for Sadie to get some QT with her cousin, aunts/uncles, grandparents-  but makes me realize how hard it is to travel with a 1-yr-old. It took her 5-6 days to recover from the jet lag/lack of sleep/social saturation. She's finally back to her sweet self, but I have to say, was the crankiest, moodiest, most worn down I have ever see her for several days after we got back. Traveling takes its toll, unfortunately!

Cousin play time in Chicago! The loved banging the pots and pans.

When Sadie starts reading a book on her own- she gets a sing-songy reading voice. It's so awesome, especially to her reading specialist mom. :)

More cousin time in Chicago. The were definitely interested in each other.

Following in our southern sister-in-law's footsteps, we made Hoppin' John for New Year's Day. It was a last-minute get together with family and friends. Many were sick and couldn't make it, but we still managed to make great headway with the black-eyed pea soup- it was too delicious (Thanks for the new cookbook Andy and Claire!- we used it for this recipe). Folks say that every black-eyed pea you eat on New Year's brings you a day of good luck throughout the year. Considering Mark and I snacked on the soup all day long- I think we're going to have a pretty lucky year.

I made little cards with pennies glued on the front (for good luck), so folks could record their New Year's resolution.

Waiting for the party to get started, looking cute... (and maybe a little saucy)

Of course she was really interested in Dad's beer-

We're dog sitting and Sadie is in heaven. I think she said "Whatisit?" (referring to the dog) 40x in her first 10 minutes awake this morning- seriously.

Happy New Year to you! Hope this year is full of goodness for you and yours!

XOXO

Living Nativity

My sister and her husband had a living nativity this past Sunday with all their friends' kids. Grandma Ruff had Sadie for the night- as a samurai shepherd.

xoxo Rebecca

Thanks to David for the video footage-

Season of Busy

Things have been a little busy in these parts--

Just this week:

Mark's finishing up a massive paper for his master's program

I finished up a Lit Assessment course I taught online

Our staging was taken away (now we have an empty house)

We had several realtors show our house (which = a lot of cleaning for us!)

Lots of Christmas parties, shopping, and wrapping

AND...the most important....Sadie is starting to walk!! She's gaining confidence and is taking 3-5 steps regularly. Perhaps she'll be polished enough to WOW the relatives at Xmas.

Here are some recent photos-

 Cutie patootie

 See Mom, I can share (with buddy, Kate).

 They both "stole" these items from each other. The grass is always greener...

 Cheese and books= bliss

 blocks!

Bye bye boring furtniture!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Wow, if I didn't have these things in my life I don't know what I'd do!?--

1) My husband. Mark is amazingly supportive. If it's a dirty diaper that needs changing, a dish that needs washing, or a wife that needs to talk- he's there, quick. I don't know who I'd be without Mark- he's been my side kick for over 9 years (!). I'm especially thankful that Mark helps me to be a better me, and we just have fun together.

2) My Sadie lady. This year has been the year of Sadie. She is my joy. I love every inch of her- she makes me laugh a lot. I am really thankful to be her mom!

3) My family. We are alike in so many ways, and different in so many others. Things are not always peachy when you have a handful of emotional, passionate, and dramatic peoples sharing life together. But, I love my family. We are there for each other when life calls for it (and sometimes just for fun!), and being with my family makes me feel safe.

4) Peets. I know this is silly, but Peets feels like community. When we go to our nearby Peets we always run into someone- sooz, roro, my mom, neighbors, friends, folks from work- it feels like Oakland to me, like home.

5) Creativity. This really fuels a lot of what I do, and I'm so thankful that I'm a creative person. Mark just commented yesterday that that's probably why I love teaching- I love creating ideas for lessons and motivating kids.

6) My church. We've been going to a new church this fall- Oakland City Church. It has really motivated Mark and I spiritually. It's also been great to become involved in a vibrant new community. 

7) Steadfast friends. I'm not a great friend- I've come to realize (even though I try). I'm good at having a couple of close friends, and I'm not so good at cultivating a large deep friend network. My two closest friends- Trish and Katie live so far away from me, but they are dear to me. And, they've put up with me for a long time. It's just like to have people that know you so well, and that experience the ups and downs of life with you. Thanks ladies!  It's also been lovely to have a group of friends in Oakland to share life with... we've lived here about 10 years and we've creating some lasting friendships...I'm really thankful for my everyday friends!! It's been so wonderful having a group of friends nearby that are at the same life stage and share the same values.

There's a lot more...but the rest is pretty superficial (like Hulu, new clothes, my car, farmer joe's etc...).

Be thankful today, and listen tomorrow- because tomorrow is the National Day of Listening (not shopping!).

Peace xoxo

Father's Day Edition

With the free time afforded by summer vacation (which started this past weekend) and the occasion of my first Father's Day, I'm spending a little time in the blogosphere. Father's Day was preceded by a great visit from my own father, and mother. He and Sadie love to spend time together, and it was neat to think about how I had a great father as a role model as I figure out how to be one myself.

On Sunday I was greeted by two cards, one from my wife, and one from my daughter. Sadie dictated her sentiments to Rebecca, who apparently is better at deciphering what our daughter means when she says "da-da-da-goo. Ahhhhh!" Much of the day was spent relaxing and reading. Sadie kept trying to grab my book, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," but I didn't think the material was very appropriate. I also received a couple presents--one of which was a basketball and a hoop. She already has enthusiastically embraced the key fundamentals of the sport, diving for the ball, dribbling, showing correct form for her jump shot, and of course dunking. I can see that we will spend many future Father's Days together hoopin' it up.

Sweet Baby Sadie

Sadie seemed to be ready for bed at 6:30 tonight, her usual time. I changed her, nursed her, and plopped her in bed before 6:45pm. She usually falls asleep right after we put her down, so I expected the same tonight, especially because she seemed exhausted. But about 20 minutes later I still hear her making noises. Hmmm, not good. I look in, and she's wide awake staring at her butterfly mobile dancing under the influence of the fan (It's been really hot here all weekend, and Oaklanders tend not to have air conditioning bc it's usually so cool). So, I promptly took the mobile down. A couple minutes later, I still hear her...and it's probably the fan keeping her up now. I turn the fan off. Now, for the past 15 minutes I have heard her via monitor sucking away on her little frog toy and scratching the sheets with her nails, drifting off to sleep. My silly girl. All those distractions was making it hard for her to sleep. I love my sweet baby! It is great being a mom. There are so many small moments that makes our relationship so special.

Yesterday it was June 12th, which means Sadie turned 7 months. Wow! I can't believe it! Time flies. This week Mark and I end school, so we'll get 5 weeks to hang with our little one. And Sadie's grandparents visit this week from Chicago, we can't wait! Here are some random photos from the last month.

Mother's Day snuggles

Mothers and daughters...we took about 5 of these, and they all turned out pretty random...it's the sentiment that counts, right?

Gma with Sadie

Sadie loves belly kisses

Grandma Ruff's girls

What silliness do my parents subject me to?

Doing laundry with Gma

In her big girl overalls

Already learning the alphabet

Mother's Day

Being a mom has been so much better than I  imagined it.

Honestly, I always pictured myself being a good mom, and that's probably because I have such a quality mom. My mom always talked about how much she loved being a mom, and how much she loved us kids (She also talked about how easy labor was--I can't say that was true for me!). Getting those positive vibes on motherhood my whole life made me confident that I would take care of Sadie well.

But, loving Sadie so much is what has surprised me. The first couple of weeks of her life my mom would ask me, "Don't you just love her? Isn't it wonderful just to look at her and think about how perfect she is?". And I would reply (a little annoyed that I didn't share her sentiment), "Um, she just lays there or sleeps. I don't really know her yet." Now that's Sadie's going on 6 months next week, I completely get where my mom was coming from.

Being a mom is amazing. You feel so much love for your child. And, you feel so proud of making this wonderful and unique being. So, a million thanks to my mom for giving me such a healthy view of parenting. I wouldn't be the mom I am to Sadie without the years and years of wisdom, perspective, and love my mom has poured into me.

Thanks Mom, I love you!

I love my grandmas too!!

Christmas!

We had a great Christmas this year! I like lists...it makes things neat and tidy, so in no particular order, here's a list of the highlights from the day yesterday (and a few from Xmas Eve too!)--

• 7:30 am wake up call from Sadie
• Opening our presents to each other as a trio by the tree- she was in such a happy, communicative mood for about an hour (see video below)
• Mom's cinnamon rolls--SO gooey!
• Opening family presents at my mom's
• Sadie playing baby Jesus in the improvised Christmas pageant at the Christmas Eve service
• Watching an awesome video Johnny made for mom-- it was touching and well done
• Sassy and practical clutch wallet from my ever-so-thoughtful husband
• Handmade and thoughtful gifts from family
• Sadie's Christmas outfits
• Roro loving Sadie's bear rug and my bee socks. She was laughing up a storm!
• Mom reading a Bible passage to start out the morning
• Sadie's long naps, cooperative nursing, and peaceful moods--so I could enjoy family time
• Shining the silver and breaking out the wedding china for Christmas dinner--a first!
• Drinking freshly home-carbonated soda at dinner-- Thanks Scott and Lida, what a fun gadget!
• Anne, Lon, and 6-day-old baby Katherine joining us for dinner
• Mom's lemon meringue pie
• Being with the people I love most

Here are some videos capturing our first Christmas with Sadie: